Ethics

In a hadith related by al-Hassan ibn Mahboub, from some of his companions who said:

Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (A) in his letter to one of the Umayyad Caliphs wrote rebuking those Caliphs who had tasked people with things that had not been enjoined by Allah Almighty saying:

' ... the blind and the lame have been wrongly obligated as well as those who do not have the funds to spend on jihad, and this after Allah has granted them exemption.' This is according to what is to be found in the Holy Qur'an regarding this matter where the Almighty has said:

{Those of the believers who sit (do not go to fight), other than those who have injuries, are not equal to the mujahidin who fight in the way of Allah with their wealth and their selves.

Allah favours those mujahidin who strive in the way of Allah with their wealth and their selves, a degree over those who sit it out. Allah has promised both parties a goodly reward but Allah has favoured those mujahidin over those who sit it out with a great reward and by degrees. From Him is a {Say to those Bedouin Arabs who lag behind: You will be called to a people of might who you will fight or they will enter Islam. If you obey, then Allah will give you a goodly reward and if you turn away as you turned away before then,

Allah will torment yo u with a painful torment. There is no blame upon the blind man nor upon the cripple nor upon the sick. Whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger will be given entry to gardens below which rivers flow, but whoever turns away will be tormented a painful torment.} 19

In our book 'al-Fiqh series: volume 48, Jihad' We have mentioned that six groups are exempt from the duty o f jihad: The blind, the cripple, the sick, the person who cannot cover his expenses, the person to whom jihad would be injurious, and the person impeded from jihad in general. The duty of jihad is not incumb ent upon the insane, the slave, or the elderly person.

The Messenger of Allah (S) said: 'The pen 20 is lifted from the youngster until he reaches maturity and from the insane until he regains his mind.' Related from Imam 'Ali (A) that he said: 'Jihad is not incumbent upon the slave.'

There are many other traditions in this regard.

Notes:

19. The Holy Qur'an: The Victory (48): 16.

20. Translators note: the expression the pen is lifted means one would not held accountable for the particular aspect in question.

Adapted from the book: "War, Peace & Non-Violence" by: "Sayyid Muhammad Sadiq Shirazi"